money laundering

Lifestyle Analysis in Criminal Cases: Proving Income Without Full Documentation

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Both civil and criminal cases often involve an element of proving or disproving income of an individual or business. It is not unusual for a divorce case to include allegations of hidden income or assets. In contract disputes alleging the loss of sales or profits, an accurate determination of income is critical.

In criminal cases, the issues surrounding the income of an individual or business have even higher stakes. These cases are quite often tax-related matters, but cases involving white collar crimes and drug trafficking usually include questions about income too.

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Kwame Kilpatrick: Lifestyle Analysis in Criminal Cases

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kwame-kilpatrick-white-collar-crimeIn 2008, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was charged in state court with 8 felonies related to perjury, misconduct in office, and obstruction of justice. In On September 2008,he pleaded guilty to two felonies for obstruction of justice and was sentenced to four months in the Wayne County Jail and ordered to pay $1 million of restitution to the city of Detroit.

The fun didn’t stop there. Kilpatrick has been accused of hiding money that could be used to pay $855,000 restitution owed to the city of Detroit, stemming from the conviction. Despite claiming poverty and an inability to pay the restitution he owes, money has been magically appearing! Money was transferred to his wife, and Kwame  himself received $4,000 from a mystery source. None of these funds were disclosed to the state by Kilpatrick, despite being required to do so under the conditions of his probation. It is suspected that Kilpatrick has money hidden, and that is the source of the funds.

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Jeweler Charged With Money Laundering

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Milwaukee area jewelery Harry C. Glinberg has been charged with money laundering, and has been accused of significantly underreporting his income to the IRS. He was arrested last week and is currently free on a signature bond.

Glinberg is accused of selling expensive jewelry to drug dealers for cash. The jewelry store is known for selling watches costing thousands of dollars, including diamond encrusted watches that retail for $30,000.

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Milberg Weiss Indicted on Charges of Conspiracy to Give Kickbacks in Class-Action Cases

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The New York based law firm of Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman was indicted in Los Angeles yesterday for twenty years of activities, including a conspiracy to give kickbacks to lead plaintiffs in securities class-action cases. It is alleged that the fraud included payment of over $11 million in kicbacks, disguised as referral fees or other legitimate payments.

Included in the charges are conspiracy, racketeering, mail fraud, money laundering, and filing false tax returns. Melvyn Weiss, a co-founder of the firm, is not named as a defendant, but partners David Bershad and Steven Schulman are.

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Parents and Son Indicted on Federal Money Laundering Charges

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Christopher Vnuk and his parents, Stephen Vnuk and Sharon Vnuk have been indicted by a federal grand jury on money laundering charges. Money from trafficking high-grade marijuana was allegedly laundered through purchases of vehicles. The parents are also alleged to have purchased items on credit cards, and used drug money to pay the credit card bills and home equity loans.

One particular incident allegedly includes a home equity loan to purchase a $66,685 Mercedes Benz for the son’s use. The bulk of that loan was paid off with drug money.

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